Chaoyang Gongyuan

     Just for a little something different, I am NOT going to tell you about the negative events that kicked off my weekend. I have the propensity to be somewhat realistic in what I post about, but unfortunately that viewpoint can also be seen as negativism.

     So we are going to skip right past a few hours of my Friday evening and right onto the great Mexican restaurant we went to last night to celebrate Cinco de Mayo a little late. We took a cab to Solana, this great outdoor shopping mall, that also has tons of restaurants and a few clubs all around the edges of the shops. Don't imagine an American mall restaurant, instead imagine a European restaurant strip. If you type in "Solana Beijing" and look at the images on Google, you will see how cool this place is. Anyway, the food was great, the service was great and most importantly the Tequila was real and great. I say real because in China a lot of the alcohol is either watered down or worse...mixed with some mystery substance, all in an effort to save money/ be cheap. We both had great Tequila shots and great Margaritas which set our weekend back on the right track.

     Today has been a busy day. First we had a fabulous, if overpriced, lunch at Element Fresh and then headed to the park. Chaoyang Park aka Chaoyang Gongyuan (Mandarin word for park) is massive and practically right across the street from us. Yet until today we have never been. This place is unbelievable. Everything you can imagine, they have. Soccer fields, basketball courses, a paint ball course, ping pong tables, a zip line, a climbing course, an amusement park, a water park, carnival games, a wedding chapel and a bunch of walking trails throughout. I took tons of pictures so I could share them. One trend that will be hard to miss amongst the pictures is the parade of brides. We literally saw a bride every 5 minutes at the park. I learned recently that Chinese women take pictures in their dress days or even weeks before the actual ceremony.

Parade of Brides 

Red bride 

White bride 1

White bride 2

White bride 3

By far the prettiest bride 

Blue bride...dress and mood, she might be crying :(

Biggest dress

Park Pictures:

The map of the park and the husband :) 

Pedal carts and electric carts

Pottery making

One World One Dream

Jumping stilts, so cool

Wedding Pavilion 

 

That was our day at the park! Have a great weekend!